Lehigh County voters could have more say in debt

Lehigh County proposal would require public's OK for projects like Coca-Cola Park.

December 20, 2012|By Samantha Marcus, Of The Morning Call

Lehigh County Commissioner Tom Creighton on Wednesday introduced legislation that proposes amending the home rule charter to require voter approval to incur certain types of debt.

The legislation is two years in the making and required a change to the state's Local Government Unit Debt Act. It was first sponsored in 2011 by Creighton and then-Commissioners Dean Browning and Andy Roman, who said that county voters should be able to determine whether to issue debt that would go to support private sector activities.

Lehigh County holds roughly $177 million in debt, far below the $533 million limit set by the Local Government Unit Debt Act.

It specifically applies to "lease rental debt," which is debt whose principal is repaid from payments made pursuant to leases, guaranties, subsidy contracts or other forms of agreement, Browning said.

So while it would not affect borrowing for core government responsibilities, such as infrastructure repair, it would affect borrowing for projects such as Coca-Cola Park. Rent payments from the IronPigs go toward retiring the taxable debt as part of financing the stadium's construction.

"These are projects that are not germane to the county's ability to operate and function," Browning said Wednesday.

They are typically large projects that incur a significant amount of debt. They're also few and far between.

"I think Coca-Cola Park is a great facility. I'm glad it's here. It's a boon to the area," Browning said. "But the fact of the matter is that's a $50 million capital expenditure undertaken by the county, and that decision was made by six people."

Projects of that size should be approved by the community as a whole, he added. The legislation initially called for putting out a primary ballot initiative asking if voters want final approval, but the board on Wednesday amended it to appear on the general election ballot, where it would benefit from better turnout.

A similar bill was introduced in 2011, but tabled while state Rep. Justin Simmons worked on amending the state debt act, which conflicted with any referendum giving voters the ability to directly approve the issuance of debt, Browning said. The change was finally approved and signed into law by Gov. Tom Corbett in October.

It shouldn't apply to the county's various authorities, which are controlled by the state.

Director of Administration Tom Muller said the administration doesn't have any issue with the bill, and doesn't intend to take out any more debt during the final year of its term.

Commissioner Scott Ott said he agrees with the outcome, but would prefer taking it further, with the county posing a referendum on banning financing for private projects entirely rather than asking to voters to weigh in each time.

"I'm trying to find a solution that doesn't require us to change our form of government in order to answer a particular question," Ott said. "If we're going to the voters, I would rather make an ongoing change."

Browning suggested the bill as written would be more palatable to voters than Ott's.